BC rolls while Notre Dame barely hangs on – again

Backed by quarterback Tyler Murphy and great second-half defense, Boston College rolled to an impressive victory on the road Saturday, steamrolling host North Carolina State, 30-14.

Murphy finished with 101 yards on 12-of-19 passing while rushing for 132 yards and two scores on 15 carries.

But it was the defense that stepped up, limiting the Wolfpack to just 217 yards of total offense — 43 yards rushing on 28 carries (1.5 yards-per-carry) — and holding them scoreless in the second half.

“The defense came out and did what it wanted to do,” said senior defensive back Manuel Asprilla. “The effort was great; the intensity was great. We were out there flying around. We wanted to be out there.”

Freshman running back Jon Hilliman continued his hot stretch, rushing for 85 yards on 27 carries. He also found the end zone once, extending his streak to four games with a touchdown.

In South Bend, Notre Dame showed for the second straight week that it sure doesn’t like to win easy.

In a game the team should have won handily, the Irish let visiting North Carolina hang around late. It took 15 fourth-quarter points and securing a Tar Heels onside kick with less than a minute remaining to cement a 50-43 victory for Notre Dame.

It was the second-straight week the No. 6-ranked Irish (6-0) had to rally from behind to win in the fourth quarter.

“We managed to find a way to battle back and get up on them and score 15 points late in the game and get a win,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “There are many, many things I could delve into, but I would say the thing that points up for me is that our guys know how to win football games.”

Quarterback Everett Golson continued to light up the stat sheet, throwing for 300 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception on 21-of-38 passing while adding another 71 yards on the ground. He connected twice with William Fuller in the end zone, as the receiver finished with 133 yards on seven grabs.

But the story was Golson’s three turnovers (two fumbles and an inteception), bringing his total to nine in the past three games.

“If you take away those three turnovers that I had, the score looks a little bit more relaxed,” Golson said. “I will do better.”

The 93 points scored was the highest in Notre Dame Stadium’s 84-year history.

Both BC and Notre Dame will have their work cut out for them next Saturday, as the Eagles host ACC-foe Clemson while the Irish travel to face No. 1-ranked Florida State.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Results for Catholic colleges around the US

Catholic schools, in italics below, went 20-15 this past weekend

Division I FBS

Notre Dame 50
North Carolina 43

Boston College 30
NC State 14

Division I FCS

Dayton 31
Marist 21

Duquesne 28
Central Connecticut St. 20

Fordham 60
Penn 22

Lafayette 24
Georgetown 21

Brown 27
Holy Cross 24 (2OT)